The Houston Texans are closing in on landing the No. 1 target of their head coaching search: Penn State University coach Bill O'Brien. CultureMap was the first news outlet anywhere to report that O'Brien was the Texans' top choice to be the team's new coach back on Dec. 18.

A source close to the search tells CultureMap that Texans owner Bob McNair started leaning toward O'Brien early in the search and never let the prospect of having to possibly pay a $6.7 million buyout to Penn State to land the former Bill Belichick disciple faze him.

"McNair loves O'Brien's toughness," the source says.

Bob McNair started leaning toward O'Brien early in the search and never let the prospect of having to pay a big buyout faze him.

Now, ESPN's NFL insiders Chris Mortensen and Adam Schefter are reporting that the Texans and O'Brien -- arguably the most impressive head coaching candidate available-- are working on getting a contract done...

The early start — a source tells CultureMap that the Texans contacted coaches through back channels to determine who would be legitimately interested in the head job in the probability it opened up even before Kubiak was fired — gave McNair and Texans general manager Rick Smith a jump on the other teams that hoped to court O'Brien.

McNair's long desired a tougher, more mentally strong team. He cited that as a priority after the Texans blew a golden opportunity to be the AFC's No. 1 seed late in the 2012 season...

"I'm told this could get done by the end of the week. Now I'm also told there have been no contract discussions to date and that to think it could get done early this week might be a bit premature. But when we speak to people around the league there seems to be widespread consensus that it is hard to image that Bill O'Brien doesn't wind up going to Houston and becoming the next head coach of the Houston Texans.

Here's a man who cut his teeth in the NFL, knows the NFL, has a creative mind, would bring a lot of energy and excitement to the Houston offense and the organization. He looks the be the guy that the Texans organization is dialed into getting and focused into getting and eventually, when we speak to people around the NFL, they believe that Houston will get its man."

Depends on when Schefter's "week" begins & ends, but still firm in his reporting.

At this point I'm with Thomas Holley and won't believe that O'brien takes the job until we all see him sitting down with Bob McNair at a presser in Houston. Hell, O'brien doesn't even know what his other options might be until this week when the regular NFL season is over and the owners have completed their annual blood-letting. Their could be 3 or 4, maybe a half dozen job openings develope between now and Tuesday night.

The early start — a source tells CultureMap that the Texans contacted coaches through back channels to determine who would be legitimately interested in the head job in the probability it opened up even before Kubiak was fired — gave McNair and Texans general manager Rick Smith a jump on the other teams that hoped to court O'Brien.

I'm not seeing it as a jump or advantage. If we can put out feelers before firing our head coach, chances are the other teams did the same thing. So the Texans interviewed a man who has a good idea which teams are interested. The Texans obviously left that interview feeling that O'Brien is ready to take the job.

The only thing I'd worry about is if other teams contacted O'Brien since they heard he is our leading candidate & O'Brien has a better option available to him than he did at the time of the interview..... say Pittsburgh decided it's time to move on, so they send word to O'Brien's people that they want him. Or Belichick decides to step down & identifies O'Brien as his heir apparent. Those kinds of things can change the landscape & Houston most likely won't know until Tuesday. Unless O'Brien is a stand-up guy & he calls Bob (because Rick is obviously taking a back seat on this decision) & hints that he has other options he needs to weigh.

On the other hand, Wisenhunt will probably be interviewed because O'Brien left the Texans with the understanding that he wants to wait & see what other options present themselves come Monday.

With that in mind, if their top prospect ends up being the guy the choose, I'm fine with what has transpired so far. If not, then I'd like to see the Texans talk to the Seahawks DC or the Bengals DC before making up their mind.

At this point I'm with Thomas Holley and won't believe that O'brien takes the job until we all see him sitting down with Bob McNair at a presser in Houston. Hell, O'brien doesn't even know what his other options might be until this week when the regular NFL season is over and the owners have completed their annual blood-letting. Their could be 3 or 4, maybe a half dozen job openings develope between now and Tuesday night.

I understand that many people on this board hate Houston, the Texans, McNair, Rick Smith, and every player on the team except AJ and JJ (both of whom you are convinced will demand to be traded).

Reality is the Texans HC job is as good or better than any NFL HC job that will be available. The Texans roster has a lot of high level talent. As much as SF or Seattle? No, but those jobsare not coming open. The owner is committed to winning, but not a meddler. If a $5000,000 hydronukeblastalaster will help you win, McNair will buy it for you. I know folks think McNair is a raving id!ot and a terrible judge of everything related to football because the Texans have not won a Super Bowl yet. But what about those "model franchises" theSteelers and the Patriots? How many years before they won their first championships? Maybe they snuck one in, but I'm thinking Steelers over 50 years, Patriots about 40.

If I was O'Brien I wouldn't let the hope of Oakland or Cleveland or Detroit cost me a job in Houston.

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Warning! If this post does not appear to contain sarcasm, someone has probably hacked my account!

Texans ownership showing some urgency for once?! I don't know if this deal will happen on Tuesday, but I do find it strange. I hope they do get a coach soon so that this abhorrent season behind them and move forward.

In another 48 hours there will likely be another 4-5 NFL HC openings. I am not naive enough to be believe that talks only begin after a coach is fired. I do believe that back channel discussions have been ongoing for almost all teams looking for a new head coach.

Probably because the Texans had already let it be known that they were interested in interviewing Wisenhunt, and it would be foolish not to interview anyone that they had any interest in...

It's called doing your due diligence. I'm sure they drew up a strategic plan with the consultant, and you follow through on that.

But it's obvious O'Brien was so impressive that Mr. McNair fell in love. And Robert Kraft will strongly recommend McNair as one of the top owners in the league to work for to Bill O'Brien, his former employee. McNair wants his hire-him-and-keep-him Head Coach like Kraft has. He desires that same organizational stability. He knows turnover at the top puts you behind the eight ball.

It's called doing your due diligence. I'm sure they drew up a strategic plan with the consultant, and you follow through on that.

But it's obvious O'Brien was so impressive that Mr. McNair fell in love. And Robert Kraft will strongly recommend McNair as one of the top owners in the league to work for to Bill O'Brien, his former employee. McNair wants his hire-him-and-keep-him Head Coach like Kraft has. He desires that same organizational stability. He knows turnover at the top puts you behind the eight ball.

Yeah! That's what I meant...

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Re: Who starts at QB?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Norg

Brain Cushing

Quote:

Originally Posted by Seegara

If I know the FO, they're not going to get a top QB. Mallett will turn out to be a 1-game flash, but it will be discovered too late.

I'll be glad when they do hire someone so we can get a jump on b!tching about who is on his staff and his supposed draft picks he hasn't picked yet. After setting all these wonderful turnover records this year, it would be nice to know we are b!tching about our new coach before the other teams fans can.

I'll be glad when they do hire someone so we can get a jump on b!tching about who is on his staff and his supposed draft picks he hasn't picked yet. After setting all these wonderful turnover records this year, it would be nice to know we are b!tching about our new coach before the other teams fans can.

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Re: Who starts at QB?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Norg

Brain Cushing

Quote:

Originally Posted by Seegara

If I know the FO, they're not going to get a top QB. Mallett will turn out to be a 1-game flash, but it will be discovered too late.

What precedent is there for coach/QB combinations moving from college to nfl?

Guess it's hard to quantify the effect really but on the flip side of any positives you are asking two key personnel to transfer their skill set to the pros at once and need them both to succeed.

Quote:

Originally Posted by WolverineFan

Don't be surprised to see O'Brien target Ohio QB Tyler Tettleton late in the draft. He's seen him up close after Tettleton marched his team into Happy Valley and knocked off Penn State to start the 2012 season.

Also, don't be shocked if O'Brien targets Nebraska walk-on QB Ray Kellogg as an undrafted Free Agent after he led his Nebraska team to a win in Happy Valley in place of the injured Taylor Martinez late this year.

Quote:

Originally Posted by PapaL

Hahaha. MSR

Quote:

Originally Posted by NastyNate

I HIGHLY doubt that happens. Texian is reaching pretty hard there.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fred

WF wasn't trying to be silly, he was just using humor to show that even though you weren't trying to be silly, in fact - you were being silly.

The junior, who Penn State coach Bill O’Brien referred to as a pro prospect earlier this week, picked apart the Lions’ secondary from the start, leading the Knights’ 13-play, 89-yard drive with ease to begin the game.

Lions’ defensive coordinator John Butler said Bortles did a great job of neutralizing the Lions’ pass rush — which amassed zero sacks — by not giving the defensive line much time to finish their rushing patterns.

“Quick decision making,” Butler said of Bortles’ best trait. “He was making his decision about where he wanted to throw the ball quickly. He threw it, and the receivers made plays.”

The junior quarterback also found ways to hurt the Lions with the deep ball, targeting an inexperienced secondary group that often came up short in coverage.

With the Knights leading 21-10 in the middle of the third quarter, Bortles felt the pressure on 2nd-and-10 and lofted a high-arching pass right into Josh Reese’s outstretched arms for the touchdown to give the Knights an 18-point lead.

This was one of many instances when Bortles bought time in the pocket before fitting a deep pass into a small area, which is exactly what O'Brien said makes defending him such a difficult task.

“Any time you have a quarterback like that with a strong arm, who’s big and can stand in the pocket and can run, it’s a very difficult challenge,” O’Brien said. “He played a great game tonight. Credit to him. I think he’s a heck of a player.”

Even when Penn State clawed back into the game late in the second half, bringing bursts of energy back into the Beaver Stadium crowd, Bortles answered.

I'm always leery when college coaches get mentioned for NFL jobs because a lot of them get cold feet at the last minute because they are only using it to sweeten their contracts at the place they are already working.

I will believe he is coming when he is sitting next to Bob McNair at a press conference.